Journey to Rainbow Island (37 page)

E
ARLY THE NEXT MORNING
, Yu-ning took Lightcaster, along with the Quiver of Light, and strapped them to her pack as she prepared to leave the Porch of Tranquility. As she rearranged her supplies, she removed the Light of Balthazar, admiring its beauty. For the first time, she noticed that its light shimmered in undulating waves, just like the light pattern of her pink crystal heart necklace. The only difference was the Light of Balthazar cast a yellow light.

Yu-ning informed Joshua that her friend would be meeting her at noon, in the bay in front of Caer-a-mor. Joshua assured her that he would have her there by midday. It was a calm, clear, cloudless day. The air was very cold, but as Yu-ning and Joshua descended the mountain, their brisk pace kept her blood pumping, and she was not cold. For the first three hours, Snowheart traveled alongside Joshua, keeping a watchful eye out for danger.

Though Joshua knew every path and trail on the mountain, Yu-ning's crystal heart necklace was shining brightly upon the path. “You don't really need that, you know,” said Joshua, breaking the rhythm of their boots crunching upon the trail.

“What, my crystal heart?” Yu-ning asked.

“Yes. You know I know the way, right?”

“Oh, I didn't know you could see the pink lights, Joshua!”

“Well, of course I can see the lights—look how bright they are, even on a sunny day like this. Who could miss them?”

“Oh, you'd be surprised!” Yu-ning said, giving Joshua a big smile.

They could see Caer-a-mor far below. Here Snowheart said goodbye. “It is too dangerous for me to venture any closer to the village, Yu-ning. I must leave you now. May the light forever caress your heart, and may we meet again someday.”

Yu-ning knelt down and wrapped her arms around the leopard's head. “May it be so, Snowheart,” she said in return.

She and Joshua reached Caer-a-mor just before noon, having made the descent in five hours—less than half the time it took Yu-ning and the treasure seekers to negotiate the summit three days before. Not wanting to draw attention, Joshua led Yu-ning on a hidden deer trail that circumvented the village and ended at the water's edge on the far side of the cove.

As the deer path exited the fir trees at water's edge, the still blue depths of the bay lay just below them; the beach and village were to their left, a quarter mile away. They heard loud rustling in the bushes beyond, and out stepped the largest bear Yu-ning had ever seen—much larger than Stout or
Madrigal, or the bears of Palova. “Hello, Joshua, you grumpy hermit!” bellowed the huge brown grizzly.

“Gamaliel, my friend—I see you have grown even fatter since the last time I saw you. Have you increased your salmon intake, old bear?” Gamaliel laughed and rose upon his hind legs, walking toward Joshua. The bear was at least ten feet tall! He enveloped Joshua in a stout hug, and then dropped to all fours as he turned toward Yu-ning.

“Hello, young lady. I am Gamaliel, Prince of the Lower Hills of the Great Fjord. Snowheart has told me about the light you have brought to this mountain, and your valiant efforts to bring the light to the gold seekers. I wanted to see you off safely!”

“It is very nice to meet you, Gamaliel,” Yu-ning said, bowing low before the great bear. “Thank you for coming.” Yu-ning turned toward the water and held her necklace high in the air. The sunlight reflected pink shards of light in all directions. Soon they could see a pink form swimming upward from the depths of the bay. Minkaro's pink nose and head were visible first, and then his entire body as he broke the surface of the water, a loud
phutt!
coming from his blowhole as a fine spray of water rose into the air.

“Hello again, King Minkaro. I wish you and your little friend here safe travels, and a fruitful journey,” said Gamaliel. Minkaro smiled at the enormous grizzly and dipped his head low in respect.

Yu-ning turned to Joshua. “Thank you for everything. You have deeply touched my heart. Remember that Palova Island is not far from my Island. It would warm Metatron's heart to see you and Jacob again. Perhaps it is time for a visit?”

“I will think on it, Yu-ning. If anything could wrest me from the warm hearth of the Porch of Tranquility, it would be the prospect of seeing Jacob again and my friends on Rainbow Island—especially you,” said Joshua, bowing before Yu-ning. Joshua hugged her, and watched as she and the great dolphin glided across the still waters of the bay. Yu-ning looked back in time to see Joshua slip quietly into the forest for the long trek back to the Porch of Tranquility.

As Minkaro and Yu-ning left the protective waters of the fjord and entered the open sea, they turned northeast, in the direction of Tunzai Island. Their destination was the Floating Imperial Palace of Tunzai, residence of the Empress. “We should reach the Imperial Palace by dawn tomorrow, Yu-ning, barring any trouble!”

“Look, Minkaro!” Yu-ning exclaimed, pointing to her left. In the distance, slicing through the water, were four pink dorsal fins.

“Yu-ning, they are members of my royal dolphin guard—I would know those fins anywhere!” Minkaro lit out in the direction of the four pink dolphins, amazed to see friendly faces in waters so far south.

“My king, we have come to warn you about the Darq waters,” said Molikan, one of Minkaro's most trusted lieutenants. “There are increasing numbers of Darq creatures roaming the oceans, from Rainbow to Tunzai Island.”

“How did you know where to find us, Molikan?” asked Minkaro.

“When we returned from our patrols around Rainbow Island, Master Cristobel told us you had gone to Snowy Mountain on Farcara Island.”

“Did the Darq creatures stop pursuing you once you hit the ice floes?” Minkaro asked.

“Yes sir, they did, but there are so many now, I am afraid it will be difficult for you to find a safe route to Tunzai. We would have been here sooner, but a dozen Darq creatures followed us. It took some time to lose them in the depths before heading south into safer waters.”

“I have an idea,” said Yu-ning, which she shared with Minkaro. The five dolphins formed a circle as Minkaro shared the plan for safely transporting Yu-ning to Tunzai Island. The conversation took only several minutes, but all the dolphins knew how critical it was for it to succeed. After making sure every dolphin knew their role in the plan, they split up—one group heading northwest, and the other group heading northeast.

After the sinking of the ghost ships, the Darq sharks had continued to cruise the waters surrounding the wreck, looking for any survivors. There were none, so they decided to swim south again, in hopes of picking up the trail of the large pink dolphin and the girl who rode him. For days they swam back and forth along the northern edge of the ice floes, looking for signs of the pink dolphin.

“Look—back toward the north!” hissed one of the sharks, directing the attention of the rest of the pack to a faint light trail in the water, heading northward. Senses heightened by the thought of picking up the trail of the girl and her dolphin, they turned north again, the glow of the water leaving an easy trail for them to follow. The sharks swam swiftly through the water, the glow growing stronger every mile. After three
hours, their search was rewarded: up ahead, they could see movement no more than 300 yards away. They quickened their pace, and all converged on the mass swimming quickly through the water. Though their quarry tried its best to escape, it could not outrace the blood-crazed sharks.

The sharks closed in and finally were on top of their targets. The light was just in front of the sharks, and its rays were painful and blinding. The sharks struggled to see clearly through the bright lights in the water, but descended upon their prey with a vicious fury. Minkaro's first lieutenant, Molikan, burst high out of the water, the Light of Balthazar around his neck—where Yu-ning had tied it just hours before. The beautiful orb projected brilliant lights that reflected off the dolphin's sleek body. The blinding lights of the orb disoriented the sharks and allowed the dolphins to burst forward with great speed—for they had been swimming slowly on purpose, to make sure the sharks followed them away from Yu-ning! They left the confused sharks in their wake, easily outswimming the larger, slower creatures.

Because of their color blindness, the sharks couldn't tell the difference between the yellow glow of the Light of Balthazar and the pink glow of Yu-ning's crystal heart necklace! And once they realized they had been tricked into following the wrong party, the sharks lost resolve. Knowing that Minkaro and the girl were long gone by now, the sharks made their retreat, heading north away from Molikan and his lieutenants. The Light of Balthazar had been the perfect decoy, as its light led the sharks away from Yu-ning and the Dolphin King.

N
O MATTER HOW HARD
S
UPARNA FLEW
, he could not lose the obsidigon.

Suparna, Romeo, Metatron, and Magic had traveled swiftly away from Baggul Island, knowing that sooner rather than later, Romeo's escape would be discovered. And sure enough, within an hour of their departure from the warlock's lair the obsidigon had discovered Romeo's escape. The obsidigon could no longer smell the boy through the bars of the gate—and knew he was gone.

It wasn't difficult to track the escape party—the boy's purple gemstone left a trail of light, and the dragon and his master easily followed it across the sea. Though it was normally a day-and-a-half flight across the Tunzai Strait to the Floating Imperial Palace, Suparna made the crossing in just twenty-four hours. The great bird was exhausted and feared he could not keep up the pace. And no matter how quickly
he beat his enormous wings, the obisidigon remained fixed on his tail, no more than half a mile behind.

Dawn broke and the sun rose before them as they made landfall. They flew over a wide beach, which led into low green hills. The obsidigon flew with renewed urgency, sensing the colorful bird was nearing safe refuge. The dragon was now only a few hundred yards behind Suparna.

The first sign of civilization gleamed before Suparna high in the sky—it was the majestic Floating Imperial Palace of Tunzai. It was a few miles in the distance, perched in the clouds, as if anchored there by angels. It was the most beautiful structure Romeo had ever seen, with gleaming walls, elegant buildings, and huge multicolored tiles on its dramatic, arched roofs and towers.

“Make for the Floating Palace!” yelled Romeo.

“There is no time!” shouted Metatron. “The Floating Palace is on the far side of the city—we will need to try for the Western Gate, which is just over this rise!” They flew over the last hill and headed across a wide, sloping plain—a mile in the distance were the high walls of the ancient city of Tunzai. “There, Suparna! Head for the Western Gate—there! If we can make it inside the city, we can seek shelter from the dragon!”

Suparna narrowed his eyes and let out a ferocious cry—the sound of 1,000 eagles pierced the early morning silence. As his cry went forth, Romeo could see men scrambling to the city walls, looking in their direction. “Will they fire on us?” Romeo said with deep concern.

“No, Romeo—I have long been a friend of the Imperial City of Tunzai, as has Suparna,” said Metatron. “They know Suparna's colors and his call; they will not harm us.” Suparna redoubled his speed and flew hard for the shelter of the approaching walls. Just as Suparna was about to clear the wall over the enormous Western Gate, a fireball blazed past them. Suparna dodged left, the scorching heat of the fire singeing the tip of his right wing. The fireball erupted against the city wall, sending soldiers scrambling in every direction.

As they cleared the turreted wall, Metatron saw an open area directly below. “Let us down there, Suparna, and make your escape!” The creature alighted in the inner court of the Western Gate; Romeo and Metatron scrambled off and headed for the safety of a nearby guard tower. A dark shadow passed above as the obsidigon and Hobaling crested the tower and hovered above them. The warriors on the wall unleashed a ferocious barrage of arrows, but the missiles simply bounced off the dragon's impenetrable scales.